Cricket: Ashes will determine Ponting's legacy

Ricky Ponting

SYDNEY - There is so much at stake for Ricky Ponting in this year's Ashes series.

Not his batting reputation, his place as Australia's best since Bradman is all but secured.

However his standing in captaincy circles is still very much up for debate.

The Tasmanian run-making machine's legacy as national skipper will be defined by the five-Test series starting on July 8 in Cardiff.

Roll the Poms and he can still be considered as one of the nation's finest leaders.

Lose the Ashes in England twice and he will become only the second Australian captain to do so after Billy Murdoch suffered the fate in 1890.

Such a result would leave an indelible stain on his time in charge.

Ponting has an outstanding record of 38 wins from 56 Tests - just shy of predecessor Steve Waugh's (41 wins from 57 matches) impressive numbers.

That has to count for plenty even if sceptics will point to the extraordinary band of players at his command for the first three years of his tenure.

High expectations come with the gig and Ponting's more than happy to try to meet such exacting standards.

With superstars Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden all pensioned off, this is very much Ponting's side.

Even if he does not say it publicly.

"I know there was a bit of talk about that in South Africa (following this year's series win)," he said.

"I have always considered all of them to be my teams."

The way he took charge of affairs in South Africa earlier this year showed Ponting is relishing his role of knocking his developing side into shape.

"When this transitional phase was first starting I viewed it as one of the most exciting phases of my career," he said.

"So far we have had our ups and downs as you are going to with inexperienced guys but right at the moment things are heading in the right direction."

The side he inherited in 2004 was a lean, mean, Test-winning machine that gutted all comers.

Taking on the captaincy had its obvious dangers - keep winning and it is all down to the fabulous talent at the skipper's disposal. Fail, like in the 2005 Ashes series, and every dud move is highlighted.

Few captains have paid as heavy a price as Ponting did for his fateful decision to bowl first in in the second Test at Edgbaston, after McGrath was injured.

Everything from his tactics to his heart-on-the-sleeve approach to the game have come under heavy scrutiny, particularly in the wake of last summer's home Test series loss to South Africa.

But getting dusted in Australia had at least one positive effect - it shot down any lingering notions that the national side remained an impregnable force.

An upside to guiding a less-acclaimed side is that more of the credit for any success must flow in some way to the captain.

"One thing I have not done as a captain is to win an Ashes series in England," Ponting said.

"So I am certainly extra motivated this time around and I know all the players have had one eye on the Ashes for a while now and we have been building our Test cricket along the way to play well in English conditions.

"With the group of players we have and the way we have performed in South Africa I am certain that we can play a level of cricket that is good enough to win in England."

In fact it is one of two major omissions on his playing resume - the other never being part of a winning side in a Test series in India.

He is unlikely to ever tick that box but he can still crush the Poms.

The 2009 Australian side has a very different feel to the brigade of 2005 - there are many great unknowns.

Will Phillip Hughes' blade cool off during the English summer?

Will the selectors keep faith in the young quicks that hurried up the South Africans or toss experienced heads Stuart Clark or Brett Lee the ball?

Sure, this is not the showdown of 1 v 2 of 2005.

To even consider the prospect of following up such a classic series with another is foolhardy.

But it should be intriguing all the same, with the sides much more evenly matched than the world rankings of No.1 (Australia) and No.5 (England) would suggest.

The absence of McGrath, Warne and Hayden has taken away much of the bluster that normally emanates from the Australian camp before an Ashes series.

The likes of Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey just don't find it quite so easy to stir the pot.

So Ponting has so far tried to spice things up all by himself.

He started by calling on his men to target fresh skipper Andrew Strauss following his sub-par 2006-07 series in Australia.

The theory being if you cut off the head, the body will wither.

He then all but dismissed the efforts of the West Indies side following England's comprehensive 2-0 Test trouncing in May.

Then on arrival in England he delivered a mental pot shot on the one issue that could well determine the Ashes - Andrew Flintoff's fitness.

Flintoff's body has regularly crumpled since his lead role in England's stunning 2-1 win in 2005.

But he and Kevin Pietersen loom as England's X-factors, the players who can turn a game in a session.

The spoilsports who could just yet tarnish Ponting's leadership record.

- AAP